SANTA MARIA, Calif., June 1 - Michael Jackson is nervous and upset as the end of his trial on child molesting charges grows near, a spokeswoman said after a tense afternoon in court during which the judge spelled out the felony accusations against Mr. Jackson and instructed the jury on how to weigh them.

"He listened to the charges against him and it made him a little upset, and that's natural," said the spokeswoman, Raymone Bain. "Who wouldn't be nervous? It's a very difficult situation to sit in there and know that your life is in the balance."

Mr. Jackson, the pop star, sat unmoving at the defense table as Judge Rodney S. Melville of Santa Barbara County Superior Court read 98 pages of jury instructions that included detailed descriptions of the 10 counts.

Mr. Jackson, 46, is charged with four counts of child molesting, one count of attempted child molesting, four counts of administering alcohol to a minor to aid in the commission of a felony and one count of conspiracy to commit extortion, child abduction and false imprisonment.

If convicted on all counts, the singer could spend more than 18 years in prison.

Mr. Jackson's parents, Katherine and Joe, and two of his brothers, Tito and Randy, accompanied him to court on Wednesday. Other members of the family will attend court on Thursday and Friday during closing arguments, Ms. Bain said.

Ms. Bain said that Mr. Jackson and his lawyers were confident that the jury would acquit him of all charges, but the atmosphere in the courtroom and the mood of the defense team as they left the courthouse was somber.

The jury of eight women and four men followed Judge Melville's instructions intently, reading along with written copies provided by the court. The judge told them that they had heard all the evidence - including more than 140 witnesses over 14 weeks - and were about to hear closing arguments from lawyers for both sides. Those arguments are expected to conclude on Friday morning.

They should presume Mr. Jackson innocent and weigh the charges against him without "pity for or prejudice against" him, the judge said. He told jurors that they should draw no inference from the fact that Mr. Jackson did not take the stand in his own defense.

Ms. Bain said that Mr. Jackson relied on his faith in God and the American justice system to get through the trial. She said he spoke with the Rev. Jesse Jackson nearly every day.

She said that she did not know the singer's views on the possibility that he might be going to prison.

Imagine yourself in a small boat on the ocean, bobbing up and down between the swells. One minute you are up on a crest. The next minute you are down in a trough. One minute you can see the horizon. The next you see nothing but a wall of water. That's what it's like covering the Michael Jackson molestation and conspiracy trial as it nears its dramatic conclusion.

Jackson is up. He is down. He is certain to be acquitted of all but the least serious charges. He is a cinch to be led out of the courtroom in handcuffs. Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon did a solid job of presenting evidence against Jackson. Sneddon is the biggest boob to grace a California courtroom since Marcia Clark.

Like music or art or wine or movies, where this case now stands — what Jackson's fate is likely to be — is entirely in the eye of the beholder.

For example, after months of relentless doubt about the strength of Sneddon's case, the buzz here in lovely Santa Maria is that Jackson now is in big trouble. Why? Because last Friday jurors saw a videotape of an interview between the police and the alleged victim in the case, a video that in the eyes of most court watchers here cast a completely new and entirely positive light upon the credibility of Jackson's accuser. Whereas the young man was surly and contentious and not a little unbelievable on the witness stand a few months ago, he was sad and not a little sympathetic on the videotape.

Compounding this "evolving" impression of the state of the case is the fact that Jackson's attorneys chose not to respond to the introduction of the videotape into the trial. They had threatened last week to call back to the witness stand their client's accuser to try to offset the damage done by the videotape. But then they changed their minds and simply rested the case with the videotaped testimony left unanswered by Team Jackson. The defense is off-balance! the spinsters breathlessly declared. Reeling! A body blow!

Conventional wisdom, whatever that means, now sees the videotape as a "game-changer" that may have saved the prosecution's case. This is from the same folks who weeks ago were laughing about how badly prosecutors were being routed by the defense. I'm throwing stones at myself, too. I am one of the bloviators and I have spoken and written things during the course of this trial that, in retrospect, seem relatively quaint. Mostly that's because trying to evaluate which side is "winning" and which side is "losing" during the course of a trial is like trying to gauge who is winning a chess match without being able to see the board or talk to the players.

I don't think journalists are alone in feeling this way about this trial. I suspect that the jurors themselves have been seesawing back and forth from witness to witness, or theory to theory. It's only natural and, frankly, a healthy sign of the kind of open-mindedness you want to see from a group of people determining a man's fate. Besides, the judge here admonished the panel to reserve its final judgments until all the evidence was introduced and all the arguments made. If there were momentum shifts among the jurors, individually or collectively, we likely will never know when they occurred or how much they impacted the jury's final decisions.

The problem for the defense, of course, is that prosecutors have the momentum going into closing arguments, and there ought to be a real fear in the Jackson camp that this momentum will carry over into deliberations. That's why Thursday's closing arguments may be more important for the defense than they are for prosecutors. Not only do Jackson's attorneys have to remind jurors about all the good evidence their side presented during the trial, they also have to try to grab momentum back and that is very difficult to do when only a lawyer, and not an important witness, is talking to the panel.

In a hushed courtroom on Wednesday, the judge in the Michael Jackson child molestation trial read aloud the legal instructions jurors must follow when they begin deliberating the entertainer's fate, possibly as early as Friday.

Mr. Jackson sat still with his hands folded in his lap, looking directly at Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville as he spent 90 minutes reading 98 pages of instructions to the jury.

The judge addressed the jurors from the witness box, where he first spoke to them when they were sworn in 14 weeks ago in February.

"You have to accept and follow the law I state to you, regardless of whether you agree with it," he told them. "You may not be influenced by pity for or bias against the defendant. . . . You must weigh the evidence, apply the law and reach a verdict regardless of the consequences."

The judge's calm, almost soothing tone, became louder and firmer as he read through the instructions that will serve as a road map for the 12 jurors.

Katherine Jackson, who has been there every day of her son's trial, jotted notes in a book. Her husband, Joe Jackson, two of her sons, Randy and Tito, and a former manager, Frank Dileo, sat by her side, sometimes closing their eyes as the judge read on.

Mr. Jackson, who is free on $3 million bail, has pleaded not guilty to child molestation, administering alcohol to a minor to commit a felony, and conspiracy. The charges bring up to 18 years in state prison if he is convicted on all 10 counts.

Today, Senior Deputy District Attorney Ron Zonen and lead defense lawyer Thomas Mesereau will begin their closing arguments. The judge will limit each to four hours. This is the final chance for each side to make sense of testimony from 140 witnesses and hours of videotaped evidence. Both sides face steep challenges. Prosecutors must convince jurors that the testimony of key witnesses is credible. The defense team must show that though Mr. Jackson regularly slept with adolescent boys, he did not molest them.

On Wednesday, the packed courtroom was so quiet that onlookers could hear the pages turn as the judge read the instructions. He stopped once for a drink of water, momentarily breaking the tension in the room when he told jurors: "I read to my wife at night so she'll go to sleep. I hope I'm not having that effect here."

Judge Melville read the charges against Mr. Jackson numerous times, explaining how the jury of eight women and four men must take into account the credibility of the witnesses in determining whether they were telling the truth, an issue which has been central to the case.

The defense aggressively attacked the credibility of prosecution witnesses, including the accuser and his mother, whom they've called greedy liars.

Jurors will also be able to consider Mr. Jackson's prior relationships with adolescent boys, but only to determine if he has a propensity for an alleged pattern of behavior.

By Wednesday afternoon when Mr. Jackson left the courtroom, a growing group of fans screamed "Michael's innocent!"

The entertainer was escorted to his black SUV by his defense team and family. He waved briefly, slipped into his vehicle and was driven back to Neverland Valley Ranch, where he spends evenings with his family and three children.

"The children have been shielded from this, so when they go home and he gets the love of his children and they want ice cream or popcorn or for daddy to go over homework, that takes his mind off of what goes on during the day," spokeswoman Raymone Bain later told the News-Press. "It relaxes him tremendously . . . After dinner, he is then on the phone religiously with (lead lawyer) Tom Mesereau and the defense team. It's a very rigorous schedule."

The trial has worn on the entertainer, who has visibly lost weight since his first court appearance in January 2004: "He's had various emotions," Ms. Bain said. "He's been very hurt, angry, appalled, but he's also very happy when things are going well.

"Michael's been relying on his faith in God and his belief in the justice system," she said. "He's, of course, very nervous -- as anyone would be. But he's gotten a lot of support from his family and he's had friends calling him who have helped, like the Rev. Jesse Jackson."

A snapshot of the King of Pop's parents and a receipt for a taxi ride that topped $100 is all Michael Schmid has to show for his first visit to Neverland Valley Ranch.

But for the 25-year-old German tourist, anything's better than nothing.

Mr. Schmid was among the 100-plus fans who gathered at the gates of Michael Jackson's Figueroa Mountain Road ranch to catch a glimpse of the singer as he returned from court Wednesday afternoon. And even though the place didn't look exactly as it does on TV -- he didn't know the familiar "Neverland" gate is actually deep within the grounds -- Mr. Schmid called the experience unforgettable.

"It was overwhelming," he said moments after the Jackson motorcade made its way past the crowd at about 2:40 p.m.

Mr. Jackson arrived at his home north of Los Olivos to find both lanes of the road blocked by fans, some holding a giant banner, while others crowded onto a portion of the driveway. All cheered him on.

Joe Jackson, Mr. Jackson's father, was the first familiar face to appear from behind the rear passenger window of a black GMC Yukon that slowed down as the fans pushed toward it. Next to him was the singer's mother, Katherine.

Seated behind them was the 46-year-old singer, who stuck his hand out the window and waved. The fans responded with shrieks and screams.

Mr. Schmid had hoped to get a clear shot of Michael Jackson's face. Instead, "I got a great picture of his parents," he said, his face beaming.

Soon after, he hopped back into a taxi cab that looked more like a presidential stretch limousine for the ride back to his hotel in Santa Barbara -- a round trip that cost him and his parents $120.

Many of the fans drove to the gates of Neverland from the courthouse in Santa Maria, but one woman, New Jersey letter carrier Lili Bakan, arrived by bicycle from Solvang.

The ride, which she has done before during her weeklong stay, is 90 minutes of "hell," Ms. Bakan said. But getting to Neverland has actually taken her 20 years.

"I'm just hoping I see him today," Ms. Bakan said before pulling out some photos that she planned to make into a collage for the singer. "If I don't see him, I'm going to die."

Rhonda Buckingham and her family arrived from the Northern California town of Manteca on Tuesday and spent the afternoon dancing to the tunes of their favorite singer, who they are convinced is the target of greedy people and a malicious prosecutor.

She noted that Mr. Jackson isn't the first adult to share his bed with a child.

"We grew up with five kids sleeping in our bed," said Mrs. Buckingham, who is the mother of four children of her own. "Nothing bad ever happened."

Once Mr. Jackson was ensconced at the ranch, his security chief, who identified himself only as Terry, worked the crowd, accepting cards, letters and other tokens on Mr. Jackson's behalf and telling supporters to avoid seeming too exuberant at this point, adding there will be time to party when his boss walks out of the courtroom a free man.

"There's an ugly evil out there," he said. "Some people don't want him vindicated."

To cheers of the fans he said, "Mr. Jackson will be totally vindicated."

Karen Faye, longtime friend and makeup artist for Mr. Jackson, told the fans that he is holding up well considering what he's up against.

"It's really, really hard for him to go through this," she said. "We're just here to support him."

Closing arguments are set to begin in Santa Maria today in the Michael Jackson child-molestation case, with both the prosecution and defense pleading their cases to jurors one last time.

Each side is being given about four hours to argue its position. Santa Barbara County Senior Deputy District Attorney Ron Zonen will speak first, followed by Jackson defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr.

Since prosecutors have the burden of proof, Zonen will also make a rebuttal argument after the defense finishes.

Arguments are limited to evidence and testimony presented at trial, and the prosecution's rebuttal can only address issues raised by the defense's wrap-up.

In recent years, closing arguments have gone multimedia, with computer-assisted presentations and audio-visual aids used to emphasize key points.

Zonen is expected to argue that Jackson is a pedophile and criminal schemer, who over a three-year period lured a cancer-stricken boy with gifts and attention; plied him with alcohol and pornography; and then molested him on four occasions. The prosecutor also will allege that Jackson conspired to abduct, falsely imprison and extort the boy and his family so they would rebut a controversial TV special about the pop star.

Mesereau is likely to portray Jackson as the target of a boy and his mother who had a history of lying and a hunger for financial gain. Mesereau was expected to argue that the mother made false claims in a lawsuit against J.C. Penney that eventually settled for $162,000. The attorney may also allege that the mother used her cancer-patient son to form attachments to celebrities, and that the accusations against Jackson only surfaced after the entertainer severed ties with the family.

Jurors on Wednesday received more than 90 minutes of instructions from Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville.

The panel appeared attentive as they tracked the judge's words in their own copies of the 98-page instructions packet.

Much of the directive was aimed at explaining the complex conspiracy charge.

Prosecutors allege 28 overt acts committed in the furtherance of the conspiracy. For Jackson to be convicted on the conspiracy charge, jurors must find that Jackson agreed to commit a crime, that the overt act happened and was in furtherance of a crime, and that the singer played some role in planning or committing the overt act.

Melville told jurors that to convict Jackson of molestation, they need only find that he touched his accuser with designs on arousing himself or the boy. Proof of Jackson's direct contact with the boy's genitals is not required.

Jurors were also given the option of convicting Jackson on a misdemeanor count of furnishing a minor with alcohol, if they do not find him guilty of administering the alcohol for the purposes of molestation.

They were instructed not to draw conclusions from Jackson's decision not to testify.

Panelists can consider for limited purposes "propensity" evidence introduced at trial about alleged past sexual impropriety by Jackson. Such evidence can be used to determine if Jackson was predisposed to commit the crimes he is charged with.

The judge also informed jurors that they must decide whether to consider testimony from witnesses who made willfully false statements on the stand. The defense has claimed the accuser's mother, who is a key witness to the alleged conspiracy, lied on the stand.

Jackson sat still as Melville instructed jurors. He had no comment as he left court.

"I think he is nervous," Jackson's publicist Raymone Bain told reporters. "It's a very difficult situation to sit in there and know your life is in the balance. He has strong faith in God and in the judicial system. He knows his fate is in the hands of 12 jurors."

The Santa Maria Times, following its established policy, is not identifying those who allege they were abused by Jackson, even though they are being named in court.

Agitation flashed on Michael Jackson's face as he left the courthouse Wednesday.

Even the predictable little courtesy bow he offers with his palms pressed together couldn't mask the look that Jackson flashed as he headed home after a tough day.

Judge Rodney Melville had just spent about 90 minutes reading the jury the required legal instructions they need to decide the outcome of Jackson's child-molestation trial.

Listening to the details of those horrid allegations upset Jackson, publicist Raymone Bain told the press after court.

The facts of the case upset me, too.

But I'm not the guy facing prison.

And I wondered as I watched the jurors Wednesday if anybody in the 46-year-old celebrity's family or inner circle cares enough about his mental state to have spoken with him about prison.

Doing time is really something to get anxious about.

So I asked Bain at her press conference if anybody has talked with Jackson about the very real possibility that he might one day soon go to jail.

If convicted on any of the charges against him, Jackson's $3 million bail could be revoked and he could be immediately remanded to custody. Deputies would approach Jackson at the defense table, handcuff him and take him away.

Bain seemed perturbed by the question.

Of course nobody has talked to Jackson about doing time, she said.

"He's a grown man," she snapped.

Nobody has to sit down with him and tell him about the realities of the world.

Oh yeah?

If nobody has, somebody better.

Jackson is no tough guy.

Even real hard men and women who have never been to prison need to know what they face when the cell doors slam and their worlds turn upside down. If the state ever puts Jackson away, his life will change drastically from what he has known for most of his life.

I don't know if Jackson or Bain has ever set foot inside a county or state prison.

I do know that it's tough inside.

A long time ago I worked with violent, long-term offenders in a state penitentiary. During those three years, I listened to men cry for help and scream in the darkness like the hysterical captives they were.

I pulled them apart when they attacked each other.

And I watched them break when they confessed their crimes - grisly acts of mutilation, death and destruction.

One man never quite got over being raped in prison by several assailants.

Another man hanged himself on J-Block but the guards cut down his teenage corpse before I got to work.

Some of those long days and nights inside will stay with me forever.

I still remember the feel of the gun and hollow points I bought and carried after some ex-cons told me that an escaped inmate had threatened to get me.

Still, I like some of the guys I knew behind bars.

Some of them never would have wound up there had somebody interceded and helped them along the way. Alcohol and drugs played a big part in many of the crimes the men committed that sent them to prison.

Mental illness also figured into the lives of many men who wound up inside.

Instability helps sometimes, though.

Some of the more predatory inmates kept their distance from a pretty young man who regularly screamed and spit in the shower in a crazed battle to keep the demons away.

Jackson needs to know the madness that might await. Talking about prison is the least that those who claim to love him can do for him as closing arguments begin today.

Of course, staying positive has its merits. But facing reality is something people should have recommended to Jackson a long time ago.

Still, jurors might rule in Jackson's favor.

Then what?

Before court Wednesday, former Jackson manager Frank Dileo stood in the back parking lot waiting for the Jackson family to arrive. Chewing gum and wearing dark shades, Dileo checked his big gold watch and adjusted the gold bracelet on his other wrist.

"All by your lonesome," I said.

"Not for long," he said.

So what do you think, Frank?

"It's a beautiful sunshiny day," he said, with the slick tone of a guy not used to being quoted unless he wants to be quoted.

OK, let's be positive. Maybe this will all work out, I said. Maybe Jackson will walk away from all charges, victorious, free and vindicated. Then what? Maybe a real victory tour?

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - A subdued Michael Jackson sat silently in court on the eve of closing arguments in his child-molestation trial, well aware that within a matter of days his future will be placed in the hands of a jury.

"It's a very difficult situation to sit in there and know your life is in the balance," Jackson spokeswoman Raymone K. Bain said Wednesday after the entertainer moved quickly and quietly past reporters on his way out of the courthouse. Closing arguments in his case were to begin Thursday with jurors expected to get the case sometime Friday.

"He has strong faith in God and in the judicial system," Bain said of Jackson. "He knows his fate is in the hands of 12 jurors."

Jackson sat stone still in court for nearly two hours Wednesday as those jurors were repeatedly reminded of the child molestation charges against him as they were given instructions for their deliberations.

The 46-year-old entertainer is charged with molesting a 13-year-old cancer survivor in February or March 2003, plying him with wine and conspiring to hold his family captive to get them to rebut damaging aspects of the documentary "Living With Michael Jackson," in which Jackson appeared holding hands with the boy as he talked of allowing children into his bed for what he said were innocent sleepovers.

Bain said Jackson's emotions have varied during his 14-week trial.

"He has had anger. He's been happy about some of the information that has come out in court," she said.

Earlier Wednesday, Jackson sat frozen in place and looked straight ahead as Superior Court Judge Rodney S. Melville, sitting in the witness box to be closer to the jury, read a long list of instructions hammered out during more than a day of discussions with prosecuting and defense attorneys.

Melville told the eight women and four men of the jury they must determine what the facts are from testimony, follow the law as presented by the judge and make their decision without "pity for or prejudice toward" the defendant.

The judge listed the 10-count indictment against Jackson, which includes two counts of committing a lewd act on a minor as witnessed by the alleged victim and two counts of lewd acts on a minor as witnessed by the alleged victim's brother.

During testimony the accuser described two molestation incidents and his brother said he twice saw the accuser being molested while asleep.

The indictment also alleges one count of an attempted lewd act, one count of conspiracy involving child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion, and four counts of administering an intoxicating agent - alcohol - for the purpose of committing a felony, child molestation.

Following up on an earlier decision regarding the alcohol allegations, the judge told the jurors they may consider a "lesser charge" of "furnishing alcohol to a minor," a misdemeanor. The instruction means the jury would not have to relate the alcohol to the purpose of molestation.

SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- Michael Jackson sat stone-still for nearly two hours Wednesday in a hushed courtroom as the jurors who will decide his fate were repeatedly reminded of the child-molestation charges against him while being given instructions for their deliberations.
Jackson appeared glum as he left the courthouse, rushing past reporters at the end of the day.

The pop star was nervous and upset, said his spokeswoman, Raymone K. Bain.

"He realizes in the next few days there will be jury deliberations. ... It's a very difficult situation to sit in there and know your life is in the balance," she said. "He has strong faith in God and in the judicial system. He knows his fate is in the hands of 12 jurors."

Bain sought to dispel rumors that Jackson was considering fleeing the country or not being in court for the verdict.

"All of these rumors -- that's a lie," she said. "He's here, and he's coming into court."

Jackson's emotions have varied during the long trial, she said.

"He has had anger. He's been happy about some of the information that has come out in court," she said.

Earlier in court, Jackson sat frozen in place and looked straight ahead as Superior Court Judge Rodney S. Melville, sitting in the witness box to be closer to the jury, read a long list of instructions hammered out during more than a day of discussions with prosecuting and defense attorneys.

The court was once again filled to capacity because of the trial's approaching finale. Jackson's mother, Katherine, and father, Joe, and brothers Randy and Tito watched from the front row.

Melville told the eight women and four men of the jury that closing arguments will begin today and they will be given the case sometime Friday, 14 weeks after opening statements.

"You've heard all of the evidence, and you will hear the arguments of attorneys," Melville said.

He told jurors they must determine what the facts are from testimony, follow the law as presented by the judge and make their decision without "pity for or prejudice toward" the defendant.

Jackson, 46, is accused of molesting a 13-year-old cancer survivor in February or March 2003, plying him with wine and conspiring to hold his family captive to get them to rebut damaging aspects of the documentary "Living With Michael Jackson," which aired in the United States on Feb. 6, 2003.

In the documentary, Jackson said that he allows children to sleep in his bed but that it is an innocent, nonsexual practice. He was shown holding hands with the boy.

The judge listed the 10-count indictment against Jackson, which includes two counts of committing a lewd act on a minor as witnessed by the boy himself and two counts of lewd acts on a minor as witnessed by the boy's brother.

During testimony, the accuser described two molestation incidents, and his brother said he twice saw the accuser being molested while asleep.

Jackson also faces one count of an attempted lewd act, four counts of administering an intoxicating agent -- alcohol -- for the purpose of committing child molestation, and one count of conspiracy involving child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion.

Jurors, who listen to 98 pages of legal guidelines to help them decide case against the pop star, will hear closing arguments starting this morning.

By Steve Chawkins, Times Staff Writer

SANTA MARIA, Calif. – Seated in the witness stand, the judge in Michael Jackson's child-molestation trial Wednesday somberly read the jury some 98 pages of legal instructions that are to guide them as they determine the pop star's future.

Jackson sat motionless, staring at the jury, as Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Rodney S. Melville recited dense legal language for more than 90 minutes. Jackson's parents, and brothers Tito and Randy, looked on from the gallery.

With Melville's instructions fresh in their minds, jurors will hear closing arguments starting this morning before retreating into the jury room for their first discussions about the case.

The defense and the prosecution each will have as long as four hours to make their final appeals in a cliffhanger trial that has careened from one dramatic piece of evidence to the next over nearly 14 weeks of testimony. The arguments could spill over into Friday.

Jackson, 46, is accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy at Neverland ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley in 2003. He is also charged with giving minors alcohol to aid in the commission of a felony and of conspiring to keep the accuser and his family from leaving the ranch. If convicted on all charges, he faces more than 20 years in prison.

Among Melville's instructions were rules for considering a videotape played just days ago that may be one of the most powerful weapons in the prosecution's arsenal.

In the 2003 video, Jackson's young accuser haltingly told Santa Barbara sheriff's deputies that Jackson had molested him. The nervous 13-year-old boy on the tape was a marked contrast to the wisecracking, sometimes prickly 15-year-old who testified at the trial in March.

Defense attorneys tried to show that the accuser's mother coached him to come forward with the molestation allegation so the family could sue Jackson. Melville reminded jurors that they could view the videotape only to observe the boy's demeanor and gauge whether he was parroting a fabricated story, and not to decide whether he had been molested.

The judge issued similar instructions about other videos that were shown during the trial and which may be replayed during closing arguments and during the jury's deliberations.

Separating a witness' demeanor from the legal concept known as "the truth of the matter" will be quite a trick, according to some experts.

"It's easy on paper but hard in reality," said Andrew Cohen, a legal analyst attending Wednesday's court session. "Jurors will be fighting over the meaning of those videos and what they're allowed to take away from them."

The other videos include "Living With Michael Jackson," a British TV documentary in which the pop star admitted that he enjoyed nonsexual sleepovers with children. The worldwide uproar following that broadcast prompted a "rebuttal video" from Jackson in which the accuser and his family lauded him as a loving father figure.

Jurors saw the rebuttal video several times in the trial and are likely to see snippets again. Prosecutors allege that Jackson held the family hostage to force them to make the video.

The defense has used the tape to argue that the boy and his family, so enthusiastic about Jackson before the camera, were not captives.

In his instructions, Melville also said the jury may opt to find Jackson guilty of a misdemeanor – furnishing wine to a minor – rather than the more serious charge of administering alcohol in order to commit a felony. That instruction may offer jurors some room to negotiate.

"I could see some horse-trading going on," Cohen said.

At the end of the court day, Jackson and his entourage left without comment. His spokeswoman, Raymone Bain, said the star was "a little upset" as the charges against him were read.

Asked whether Jackson was conferring with anyone to prepare for the possibility of prison, she said he wasn't. "He's a grown man," Bain said. "He knows life and what life is all about."